


Down a Dark Path

by shekina



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-13
Updated: 2014-06-13
Packaged: 2018-02-04 12:28:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1779112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shekina/pseuds/shekina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since Malcolm Merlyn found out about his daughter, he's been making plans for her future.  Now, he has the chance to set them in motion.  He realizes the tactics he used with Tommy won't work with Thea and decides a different approach is best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Down a Dark Path

**Author's Note:**

> As a fair warning, this fic is going to contain a lot of emotional manipulation and will probably get pretty dark. If that's not your sort of thing, please don't read further.
> 
> There will also be switching POVs.

Thea’s eyes fluttered open and she gazed out the window at the night time darkness. She had no idea of the time or where exactly she was in the world. It had been a long trip with Malcolm, with several stops and changes along the way. Mercifully she had slept through most of it, overcome with pure exhaustion.

They had yet to have a proper conversation. The times Thea was awake, she occupied herself by staring out of the nearest window, ignoring Malcolm’s glances. He did not press her, for which she was relieved.

Thea dug around in her bag and found her robe. She slipped it on and headed out to the hallway.

The house they were staying in was not as lavish as she was used to but it was still fairly good size. Whether it belonged to Malcolm or not, Thea neither knew nor cared. She followed the unfamiliar path to the kitchen, happy for the few lights that were still on.

She had nearly reached the kitchen when she was tempted to turn back around and return to her hideout of a room. Malcolm was clearly in there, making some sort of meal. She hesitated for several long moments but eventually the hunger in the pit of her stomach won out. Thea took a deep breath and pushed on the swinging door and stepped into the kitchen.

She had barely gotten a couple of steps into the room when Malcolm looked up from the mixing bowl on the counter. He gave her a warm smile. “Hi Thea.” 

“Hey,” she said distracted. “How did you even know I was in here?”

“The shuffling of your slippers,” Malcolm replied simply.

Thea looked at him in disbelief then shook her head. This was the man who had gotten to his feet right after she shot him twice in the chest. Yes, he had had Kevlar on, but it still should have hurt like a bitch. Was it that hard to believe his hearing was that freakishly good, as well?

“Are you hungry? I’m making eggs.”

“Yeah…sure.” Thea was distracted but then she caught herself. “I mean….yes, please. Thanks.”

If he was irritated over her lack of manners, he did not show it. He simply cracked a few more eggs in the bowl.

Thea wandered over to the fridge, to see if there was any juice. She paused when her eye caught hold of a picture that was hanging on the door. In it, a young dark-haired boy was holding an infant. There was something vaguely familiar about it but she could not quite place it. “What’s this?” Thea questioned, pointing to the picture. When Thea looked over to Malcolm, there was a flicker of sadness in his eyes.

“That is the only picture I have of my two children together.”

“That’s Tommy and me?” She looked back at the picture, feeling a stab in her heart for several reasons. Thea turned her head back to Malcolm, her face clearly looking for an explanation.

“Robert gave that to me, ages ago. After Rebecca died, I needed to get away for a while. Tommy spent a lot of time over at your house and Robert thought that picture might cheer me up, when I got back. If there were more pictures of the two of you together, I never got them. When I found out that I’m your father, I chanced going back to my house to retrieve it.”

“And to get whatever other super villain stuff you needed, right?” Thea asked, suspicion written all over her face. “Besides, why should I believe this isn’t just a really, really good photoshop?”

There was an odd look on Malcolm’s face. “No Thea, the picture was the only thing I went back for. And if you flip it over, you’ll see it is definitely not photoshopped.”

Thea nudged the magnet out of the way and flipped the picture over. Her heart skipped a beat, as she saw her father’s…well Robert’s…handwriting on the back of the picture. _Tommy and Thea April 24, 1995_. Thea felt another wave of emotions she wished would just go away. She put the picture hastily but carefully back up, staring at it for several long seconds. “Sorry,” she mumbled, looking in the opposite direction of Malcolm.

“It’s fine, Thea. Suspicion can be a very good thing. No one could blame you for it, given how much you’ve been lied to.”

Thea’s head whipped around to stare at him dumbfounded. The vast majority of the time, this man made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever. She was pretty sure most rational people would say she was being paranoid, especially over something as simple as a picture. She shook her head to clear it. “Well, I’m pretty sure Tommy never lied to me.”

“Are you sure about that?” Malcolm waited several beats before continuing. “Did he ever tell you about Oliver being the vigilante?”

Thea opened her mouth to say that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard but she froze before the words could come out. Memories started flashing through her mind, things that made so much sense now with this information. Oliver running out when their mother’s verdict could be delivered at any moment, his intense secrecy about the damn basement, his and Tommy’s unexplained and sudden riff, his bizarre comings and goings. 

The rage and betrayal welled up in her. She grabbed the nearest object, a crystal vase, and sent it hurtling to the wall with a resounding smash. A mug and a plate quickly followed suit before Malcolm grabbed onto her and pulled her tight against him.

Thea hit him with feeble fists and tried to push him away, the screams still erupting from her throat.

Malcolm didn’t let go of her though. One hand cradled her head and the other was firmly on her back.

It was only a few more attempts at a push before her screams of rage turned into screams of anguish. Tears flowed from her eyes like a broken dam. She didn’t even realize she was starting to slump against Malcolm as she wept for the mother she had barely had time to grieve, for the brother who shattered her heart, for the father she thought she had, for the man she would never get to know as a brother and for the boy who was no different from the rest. She wept and wept before she could manage a soft plea. “Please make it stop…please make the pain stop!” Thea clung to Malcolm, needing to hold onto someone or get sucked into an abyss.

He rested his chin on the top of her head and when he spoke, his voice was soft. “I wish I could, honey. But I can’t undo what others have done. I can promise you, that I will never hurt you like that. You mean too much to me to do that, to you.”

“I feel like I’m going to crack.” Thea choked out between sobs.

“Then crack, honey. To start anew, sometimes we have to rid ourselves of everything we were before. You won’t be alone, I swear. I’ll be right here for you.”

Whether it was minutes or hours, Thea had no idea, but the tears slowly started to subside. When she started pulling back from Malcolm, he let her go easy enough, but he kept his hands on her shoulders. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m in a much better state than your shirt…Italian silk…I should be arrested for such destruction.” She needed to try to joke, to feel a flicker of something other than the dull ache.

Malcolm gave her a soft smile. “I have plenty of others don’t worry about it.”

Thea nodded, casting a guilty glance over at the broken things. “So where do you keep the broom?”

“Don’t worry about it, honey. I’ll take care of it. Just go freshen up and when you get down, the food will be ready.” 

Thea wasn’t in a state to argue, so she merely nodded and headed out the kitchen, wiping the last tear from the corner of her eye.


End file.
